One local venue to offer 3 of Top 50 music acts in the U.S. this summer, new list says

July 16, 2013|By John J. Moser, Of The Morning Call

A local concert venue this summer will offer three of the Top 50 top touring acts in the United States for the first half of 2013, according to new rankings.

And you may be surprised at what venue it is.

It will be Allentown Fair that, at its six grandstand concerts Aug.27-Sept. 1, offers those top acts, according to the list for concert revenue compiled by industry magazine Pollstar.

Luke Bryan, who plays the fair Aug. 30; Zac Brown Band, who's at the fair Aug. 29; and comic ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, playing Sept. 1, all had concert revenues that put them in the Top 50 through June 30, Pollstar says.

Luke Bryan was highest at No. 20. He grossed $16.8 million, selling 410,268 tickets to his 34 shows in 33 cities, for an average crowd of 12,432. He already has sold out the fair's 14,500 capacity

Zac Brown Band is at No. 28 on the list. It grossed $14.8 million, selling 325,633 tickets to its 27 shows in 25 cities for an average of 13,025 people. It plays a show to a sold-out crowd of 25,000 at Susquehanna Bank Center in Philadelphia on July 21.

Dunham is No. 36. He grossed $12.2 million, with a total of 262,704 people at his 48 shows in 46 cities for an average of 5,711 people at each.

Sands Bethlehem Event Center only had one of the Top 50 in the past year – well, technically two. Motley Crue, which finished at No. 50 with $6.9 million gross for its 26 shows, played two shows at the event center for its first-year anniversary on My 20 and 21. Over all, The Crue drew 90,801 people for an average of 3,492 at each show.

The Sands also had the No. 64 show, Willie Nelson, on June 16, and has the No. 62 show, Diana Krall, coming up on Oct. 10, and the No. 88 act, Tony Bennett, on July 26.

Sovereign Center in Reading had the No. 51 tour, Winter Jam with Toby Mac, on Jan. 26. That tour grossed $6.8 million with its 44 shows, drawing a total of 553,830 people for an average crowd of 12,587.

Pollstar's list is topped by The Rolling Stones, whose 50th anniversary tour grossed $87.7 million by playing just 18 shows in 11 cities – including Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center on June 18 and 21. That's an average gross of nearly $8 million per show.

Berks County native Taylor Swift, who plays shows at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field on July 19 and 20, came in second, with a total gross of $58.5 million.

Swift actually sold more tickets (686,805 to The Rolling Stones' 253,296) and had a bigger per-show attendance (25,437 to The Stones' 23,027), but The Stones average ticket price ($346) more than quadrupled Swift's ($85).

Doylestown native P!nk finished seventh, with a gross of $28.3 million from her 26 shows, including one on March 17 at Wells Fargo Center. She returns there for a sold-out show in December. In all, her shows averaged crowds of 14,158.